Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down a major life goal you have yet to achieve or even begin to take action on. For each goal, write down three uncertainties (read: fears) you have relating to each goal. Break it down further, and write down three reasons for each uncertainty. When you have three reasons for your fear, you’ll be able to start processing the change because you know where the fear stems from. Now you’ll be able to make a smaller changes that push you towards your larger goal. So begins the process of “trusting yourself. –Sean Ogle

There’s nothing I like better than being open and honest about my fears in a public forum like this (#sarcasm), but since I did agree to write on these topics, here goes...

Goal: Start a company

Fears:

#1- Fear of picking one thing to do for the rest of my life

a. I don’t know if there will be time to pursue other interests

b. It will lock me into one place, and I will never see the world

c. Is there something that can keep my interest for long enough to see it through? (related to the first one, but a little different)

#2- Fear of selling

a. I do not like asking for things (i.e., do you want to buy my…?)

b. I lack confidence in my ability to bullsh—

c. I let rejection affect me much more than it should

#3- Fear of failure

a. The business might not ever make enough to support my family

b. If it failed, the business would have been a waste of precious time

c. I do not know if I am organized enough to start a business and keep it running.

Sean Ogle is right that writing down the fears helps you start to work through them. In fact, as I sit here and look at some of them, they seem rather silly. Guess I’d better get to work…